horse race
Americannoun
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a contest of speed among horses that either are ridden by jockeys or pull sulkies and their drivers.
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any formidable contest or competition.
The primary election is expected to be a horse race among four opponents.
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Winning the Derby changes anyone’s life, but it’s magnified when you make history, as DeVaux did by becoming the first female trainer to win the world’s most famous horse race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
For example, there have been no debates and none are planned at the moment, and the lack of polling means that horse race coverage is nonexistent.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
U.A.E. media circulated videos of royal family members and government officials walking through shopping malls and enjoying themselves at a horse race even as missiles and drones continued to fly in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
Last week the 20-year-old became the first black female British jump jockey to win a UK horse race.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
“People who never saw a horse race in their lives are taking sides. If the issue were deferred another week, there would be a civil war between the War Admiral Americans and the Seabiscuit Americans.”
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
